Eat. Watch. Do. — Air and Water Show, ‘Blue Beetle’ review, plus tip-free dining at Thattu
It’s Thursday, Chicago.
Yes summer is winding down (feel those breezes, anyone?) and back-to-school prep is well underway, but we still have time left to enjoy the season.
Weekend skies should be a little bit busier thanks to the Air and Water Show. We hope you’ve planned accordingly, but if not, our guide is here to help. There are also a handful of premieres on screens this weekend, and Tribune critics Michael Phillips and Nina Metz have you covered with reviews of DC Comics’ “Blue Beetle” and the final season of “Billions” on Showtime.
Over in Avondale, a restaurant that celebrates the diversity of South Indian cuisine is also innovating with its no-tip pay model, food critic Louisa Chu writes in her latest review. Check out which dishes she loved at Thattu, including tater tots powdered with chaat masala, here.
Enjoy the weekend, and we’ll see you next week.
— Lauryn Azu, deputy senior editor
Chicago Air and Water Show 2023: Lineup, schedule, accessibility and where to watch Air Force Thunderbirds
What to know about this year’s Chicago Air and Water Show includes how to get to the lakefront (or avoid it), weather conditions, and more, compiled here.
Review: Thattu pioneers with Kerala cuisine, just as much as its innovative tip-free pay model
At Thattu restaurant in Avondale, chef Margaret Pak and Vinod Kalathil have found a home, where there are no tips or service charges along with a rarely offered regional Indian cuisine. Read why here.
‘Billions’ review: A finance bro runs for president. What could go wrong?
As we arrive at the show’s end, the Showtime series is creatively tapped out, Tribune critic Nina Metz writes.
Chicago’s 1st sober bar crawl to serve up alcohol-free cocktails and karaoke
Chicago AF and the Sober Black Girls Club are partnering up for a nonalcoholic bar crawl, with stops at In Good Spirits and Bendeción Bottle Shop. Read how you can take part here.
‘Blue Beetle’ review: A reluctant superhero in a better-than-average DC Comics movie
“Blue Beetle,” the latest DC Comics movie, out in theaters this weekend, sets up a formulaic superhero plot, but with the backdrop of a working-class Mexican American family in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. Read Tribune critic Michael Phillips’ take here.
Review: Steep Theatre’s ‘The Writer’ is a gutsy look at theater itself, as seen through a feminist lens
The unsparing British play by Ella Hickson is having its U.S. premiere in Chicago. Read about the show here.
Evanston author falls into a whale! Lives to tell about it! (And then some!)
“Whalefall” by Daniel Kraus is the hot new book of the moment. Tribune reporter Chris Borrelli interviews Kraus about the book and the metaphors behind it.
Ever make a collage? Of course you did, as a kid. Now let the professionals show you how it’s done.
The free show at Dime Gallery in Wicker Park explores the art of collage-making. Before the show ends, get inspired by the perspective of the artists behind these works here.
